Birthday Things

I turned 24 last Tuesday.  Please save all age-related comments and jokes for someone else as I think I’ve already heard them all.  Someone told me I looked like I was in high school (yeah, yeah I know), someone told me “soon you’ll be able to drive and start thinking about boys” and someone else congratulated me on finally turning 21.  I know a bunch of comedians, you guys!

Anyways, all jokes aside, I had a fabulous birthday and I feel so spoiled by my amazing family and friends.  Thank you all for making me feel loved!  I’ll try not to make this post too wordy (too late?) but I wanted to share some pictures of all the fun celebrating that went on.

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Joey got me some fun glass straws to fuel my iced coffee addiction.  I have a glass every morning and had been going through plastic straws like nobody’s business.  He also got me an awesome pair of Sam Edelman flats…that I already own.  It’s the thought that counts 🙂

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My dear sweet mother could not handle the idea of not seeing me on my actual birthday (we went out with my family this past weekend to celebrate) and I’m convinced she made a whole red velvet cake just as excuse to deliver it — with my dad in tow — to my office and see me.  No complaints here!  This baby was GONE 24 hours later.  At least everyone at work had the common sense to leave me the last piece.

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I asked my closest friends to join me for a little birthday get together that night.  As I was perusing Yelp! for a good place to go, I came across Machete Tequila + Tacos and that’s all I needed to hear.  I was sold.

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Their margaritas were serious!  Okay, I’m a total light-weight, but I found them to be really strong.  Delicious, but strong.  Joey ordered the “Hot Mess” and it was spicy.  We placed an order of 12 tacos — 2 each — and every single one of us cleared our plates.  I’d say that’s a success.

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Joey ordered a beef tongue taco.  BEEF TONGUE.  I must have had too much tequila at this point because I actually tasted it.  You know when you accidentally bite your own tongue?  Yeah that’s how it felt to eat that taco.  Never again.  How cool is the squid ink tortilla though?  I played it safe with a grilled shrimp and pulled pork taco.  Tacos are my life.

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Our waitress brought out a complimentary birthday shot and I forced all the girls to also get one.  No one wants to take a shot by themselves!

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Birthday celebrations continued through the weekend, with dinner on Friday and Sunday night.  Lori treated us to burgers and beer at Park Burger on Friday evening.  Afterwards, we ooh’ed and ahh’ed over beautifully historic Denver homes that cost over a million dollars (seriously, we went home and looked) before heading home.

Sunday involved dinner at the Med.  I’m pretty sure I’ve said all there is to say about my love for this place so I’ll just say that we ordered 6 plates of tapas, entrees and two desserts and now I’m never eating again.

I think we can finally put my birthday to rest.  Till next year anyways.

A Book Review: Dearie

Okay, the full title of the book is Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child, but that was just too many colons for one blog post title.

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I just finished this one up on Tuesday, while sitting out on Joey’s deck and remarkable is right!  It’s interesting to me that Julia Child is such a huge name in the cooking world, yet before reading this book I knew next to nothing about her.  I didn’t know she grew up in California, didn’t know she was that tall, didn’t know she had a career with the secret intelligence agency before embarking on a career in cooking, didn’t know she didn’t begin that career until she was almost 40, didn’t know hard she worked and how much she did right up until her death just two days before her 92nd birthday.  Remarkable.

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While I’m not sure I loved the style of Dearie — it seemed like a lot facts and quotes and was a little dry for my taste — I totally fell in love with the character it depicted.  By the end, I felt like I had been friends with Julia Child.  And what a spunky and fun friend she was.  I don’t think anyone who knows anything about Julia Child can deny that she was one of a kind.  When I reached the end of the book, I was genuinely sad.  Sad that I was too young to know who she was when she was still living, sad that I never got to watch her shows, sad that the world will never see another like her.  But what a legacy she’s left behind.

P.S. Do not read this book while hungry 😛